Leadership Digest – February

We have enjoyed exploring a range of topics in February – inspired by recent conversations with delegates and our personal coaching sessions. This month's newsletter features the value of lateral thinking, overcoming awkwardness, stepping up to be courageous, and the first in a mini-series on negotiation.

Stepping up to be courageous: Dave kicked off February by reflecting on his own courage in the workplace. He suggests using regular 'creative anniversaries', as a prompt to pause and review opportunities to be courageous on particular projects, or in your day-to-day work. Courage was a theme that ran through the other topics we explored this month.

Feeling awkward?: If you’ve just been promoted or changed role due to a reorganisation, it is common to feel a sense of awkwardness – towards those who you might have been promoted over, or who were once in the role you have taken on. Matt shares a great example from an OPDC delegate who showed courage and respect to tackle this head on – turning awkwardness into an opportunity for collaboration.?

Learning from lateral thinking: Following a one-to-one with a delegate, Matt was impressed by their demonstration of lateral thinking to embed Appreciative Feedback into several areas of their organisation. From the hiring process to exit interviews, they’ve used the simple model to turn overlooked interactions to moments of value. It has got us thinking about how we can encourage more lateral thinking across our programme content too!

Asking “WHY?” when negotiating: Reflecting on a recent ‘subpar’ negotiation, Dave kicked off a mini-series on negotiation. As a starting point, it is so important to go back to basics and ask “WHY” to help our negotiations solve the needs of both parties. Over the next few weeks, we will be digging a bit deeper into the factors that influence our ability to negotiate – from AI to cognitive bias.

Need our help working with senior teams, or leading change? Looking to build on your leadership development plans this year? Contact?Matt Eccles?or?Dr David Kearney?for an informal chat about any of the topics above.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our?Leadership Digest, if you haven’t already!